Purple loosestrife

I had gone swimming with my family at Little Ossipee. There was a tunnel where the water goes under the road and I saw a plant with Purple Flowers that had little hairs on the stem and branches with lance shaped leaves. This got my attention, so I took pictures and looked at the Purple Loosestrife Species ID and saw that the pictures were similar to the ID.

Supporting Evidence

I think I found Purple Loosestrife because it had Purple Flowers on a long slender spike. It formed LOTS of flowers so it can spread easily.

My second piece of evidence of why I found Purple Loosestrife is about the hairs on the stem and the leaves.I took many pictures and this is the best I could get. You can see the hairs on the stem, and the long Lance shaped leaves.

In this photo for my third and last piece of evidence, you can see how tall the plant grew. This plant grew at least one meter tall and is probably still growing.

Species Observation: Species Looked For

Did you find it?:

I think I found it

Scientific name:

Lythrum salicaria

Common name:

Purple loosestrife

Sampling method:

Just looking around

Place Studied

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Comments

You have provided outstanding evidence (stem, leaves, flowers etc.) and made it easy to confirm that this is in fact Lythrum salicaria that you found. I have a few questions for you.

1. Is this the first year that you notice these plants in the area?
2. Have you seen these plants anywhere else nearby or is this the only section along the lake?
3. Did you notice any insect damage to the leaves?

Thank you so much for taking the time to report your findings. As you noted in your comment, early detection is so important in keeping invasive species from spreading.

Question #1: This is the first year I've seen this plant in this area.
Question #2: I did notice more Purple Loosestrife plants near private property.
Question #3: The leaves on this plant we're fine and healthy, no holes, the Galerucella beetles didn't attach this plant. (However to spell the beetle name)

You provided some great evidence that will be very helpful in confirming your identification. It was especially helpful to take 3 separate pictures of your three pieces of evidence to highlight what you wanted to show as evidence. Well done!

Thanks! I've been watching this stuff grow on the sides of roads, and I really wanted to show that there is Purple Loosestrife at Little Ossipee, luckily it has just started spreading and it could be stopped!